Farewell to a Friend

I received word tonight that a faithful, loving, four-legged friend died yesterday. Toby was a wonderful dog. He was a yellow lab. Toby had an extremely important job, he was a seeing eye dog for our friend Doug. And he did the job extremely well.

Toby was always ready and eager to go to work. Doug would bring the harness out and no matter how Toby was feeling he sprung into action to wear the harness proudly and be the eyesight Doug needs. Toby always had a smile on his face... yep, a dog that smiled.

I'm not exactly sure how long Toby was with Doug but I know it was many, many years. Toby was raised for the Leader Dog School in Rochester Hills, MI. The person who raised him was a school teacher who took Toby to her elementary classroom every day where Toby was showered with hugs, kisses, and a lot of petting. Toby loved kids.

Diego named his favorite stuffed animal after Toby (of course it's a yellow lab given to him by Doug and JoAnn). He never goes to bed without Toby. Diego said, "Toby has a long, wet tongue and he licked me with it, on the face! He played with me and I love him." That about says it all.

Goodbye our friend Toby Spade, you were a good boy, we love you.